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• Getting to Timbavati

Getting to Timbavati Game Reserve is relatively easy. You can drive or you can fly in to the closest airport and have a shuttle transfer. Even better, you can have your own private charter.

Timbavati Directions

By Car

Timbavati Private Game Reserve is approximately 5 or 6 hours by car from Johannesburg. The road network is modern, hard-surfaced, and well maintained to within a short distance of the reserve.

• Take the N4 highway to Witbank / Middelburg
• Follow the R540 / Belfast turnoff.
• Continue on to Dullstroom, Lydenburg, and Origstad.
• Drive over the Abel Erasmus pass, and through the JG Strydom tunnel.
• Following the signs to Hoedspruit.
• Drive straight through Hoedspruit, over the railway line bridge.
• Make a right at the stop street, onto the R40 to Klaserie.
• At approximately 7km, make a left turnat the Timbavati / East Gate signs.
• Sign in at the security boom and continue straight for about 17 km.


• You will cross the Klaserie River and check in at the Timbavati Control Gate.

From this point, you will be travelling on gravel roads that can be rough and corrugated. Regular passenger vehicles can reach all lodges within the reserve, although some roads may occasionally be difficult or impassable in the rainy season, so 4x4 vehicles are recommended.

Fly to Timbavati

By Plane

Regular scheduled, daily flights fly from Johannesburg and Cape Town to 3 regional airports. Airport transfers are usually arranged as part of the guest's reservation. Alternately, car rentals and shuttle buses are also available. Certain lodges in the Timbavati have private airstrips.
Approximate driving times from towns served by these airports are as follows: 30 minutes from Hoedspruit; 90 minutes from Phalaborwa; and 3 hours from Nelspruit.

By Private Charter

Private air charters are also available. Johannesburg is an excellent starting point and guests can fly straight to the lodge or to nearby Hoedspruit Airport. Transfers to the Timbavati lodges and back can be organised around flight times.

Location of Timbavati Game Reserve

Bordering the Kruger National Park, the Timbavati Private Game Reserve consists of a number of private concessions offering a selection of accommodation services and safari experiences. There is no fencing between the reserve and the National Park, so animals move freely in and out.The Timbavati floodplain is an exceptional safari destination. The vegetation is made up of fine bushveld trees and mopane shrub terrain. The resident wildlife is particularly rich and features not only Big Five game but an extraordinary profusion of bird and diverse animal life. Guests can game view from an open vehicle, or on foot in the company of experienced rangers.Timbavati is one of a handful of nature reserves on the western boundary of the Kruger National Park that are now an integral part of the Kruger Park system. These wildlife-rich lands adjoin and are managed in cooperation with the Kruger National Park, forming a distinctive combination of public and private lands called 'The Greater Kruger Park'.